MachinimUWA V: Seek Wisdom - Fem nya bidrag

Nu spurtas det bland filmmakarna!

Fem nya bidrag till machinimatävlingen MachinimUWA V: Seek Wisdom (klicka på länken för tävlingsreglerna). Nu med 775000 Linden i prissumma (se Machinima Powerhouses Project48 & UWA Join Forces ) och med förlängt slutdatum till den 3 juli. Detta gäller nu även UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge med en prissumma på 550000 Linden. Ta chansen och skicka in ett eller flera bidrag före den 3 juli! Hur svårt kan det va? Apmel sitter i juryn :)

PS. Glöm inte UWA Machinima Movie Poster Contest som också pågår parallellt.

MachinimUWA V: Seek Wisdom (5th UWA Short Animated Film Festival) Entries.



Machinima and concept: Laslopantomik Yao
Text adaptation, music and narration: Ultraviolet Alter

Original text:
Thought on self-reliance
Tseli Shuo
Chang Shihyuan 1755-1824

All living things in this universe die. Among the plants, birds,
beasts and insects, some are born in the morning and die at eve, some have a life span of a year, and some last ten, or hundred, or a
thousand years. But they all die. The diference is merely one of
length of time.

The same is true of man. when he is living, he labors and occupies
himself with something and worries and plans as if he were going to
live forever. But when his spirit is dispersed and he dies, he cannot
even grow enough flesh to cover his white bones. Death comes to him exactly as it comes to the plants and the birds and the beasts and insects.

A gentelman is aware of this fact. He therefore does not regard life
and death as depending upon the existence or non existence of bodily
form, but rather upon the growth or decay of his spirit of life. When
a man is perfectly well in his body but his vital spirit is gone, he
may well be regarded as dead. If, however, one's life spirit is
developed to find expression in principles of the great stream of life
of this universe. He is then freed from this dependance on a material
body.

We find in the classics and history the ancient wise men who died long ago but whose light shines through the ages like the stars and the sun. I may truly say that these men are still living with us.

Therefore, whether man is mortal or immortal depends entirely upon the man himself. However, all men die and few there are indeed who have become immortal. A scholar should make up his mind and rely on himself.



By Karima Hoisan & Natascha Randt

This is our Costa Rica-Germany-Connection video for the MachinimUWA V challenge: "seek wisdom". Karima Hoisan and I, we are on a journey to discover where we can find wisdom...



By JamesAir

Film Explained Below -Comments On Arjuna Painting Here - http://jamesairblog.blogspot.com/
The Deconstruction of Alice - Written and Narrated by JamesAir
100 Treasures from the University of Western Australia featured:
Leonard French, Emergence
http://www.treasures.uwa.edu.au/treasures/#7-1
Sidney Nolan, Perished
http://www.treasures.uwa.edu.au/treasures/#29-1

Music: Paul Mealor's Ubi Caritas

Film Notes: Alice in this film represents us all. Her journey is ours. And like all of us, she struggles with knowing who she is, why she exists, and what is the purpose of life with all of its struggles, its sufferings and joyful experiences.

"One may have a idea of where they are going, but where you are is much more important."

Very zen like, this quote seems to say we can let go of the struggle to try to go somewhere and instead just be, in the here and now without worrying about going somewhere.

Alice is spinning upside down signifying her confusion and duality of being of course in the present moment, while at the same time, lost in thoughts goals of wanting to go somewhere.

Alice falls, representing those moments during the day when thought is quiet, and yet when she lands, she checks her feet.... "roof brain chatter" or the stream of thoughts in our minds does not stay quiet for long! After the peace of just being while falling, thought kicks in as soon as she lands.

"The goal must be to not move towards a concept or mental image,
but to fully see what is, in this moment.
For only here and now is real."

Alice lost in thought once again while rolling around the floor, is then shown flying at a sunrise, spinning free. Next standing in a serene field of flowers representing those moments of bliss or total peace we've all had and wish to return to if we only knew how.

"Your thoughts are like a river
moving though your mind,
like clouds blowing across the sky."

The man here represents the body of Alice, standing relatively still, and Alice herself represents her thoughts. Agitated, totally out of control, no real direction... that's the mind at times! While the quote points to a zen like state where you watch your thoughts from a distance, Alice clearly shows the more common experience of a person with thought totally out of control!

Next we see Alice is a state of meditation or quiet self awareness. She is seeking a freedom from her agitated mind. She remembers a moment of peace and contentment in the arms of a former lover. Naked against the backdrop of the city, showing her sincerity, vulnerability, and innocence in the questions she is asking herself.

"If you think you're free, there's no escape possible."

There is no way to find a higher peace unless you desire and believe in something more than you have.

"Consciousness and thought are not the same thing, though our thoughts convince us they are."

A lot of times we try to use only thought to look for freedom and peace and yet it's often thought that's the problem to start with. We often torture ourselves with our thoughts of quilt, regret etc.

Everyone is body and soul, higher and lower natures, and like everyone Alice has a dual nature. We see her walking in a sexy bikini full of ego and body identification, and then drunk spinning in a bar, then falling down. Then, while in a run down part of town, she is shown having higher thoughts. No matter where we find ourselves or how dire our situations, we can take a higher path in our minds.

"When looking at the self, there's not more to do, only more to see and to understand."

We see Alice meditating in a Buddhist temple, then staring at negative worldly posters in a bar, then looking at art in a small gallery. Again showing the duality of a normal person. The art can represent various things to each of us such as the realization of death in Sidney Nolan's, Perished but I found the two photographs shown together striking. The pictures of a new born baby and a homeless man laying on a sidewalk. That man too was once a newborn full of promise and one wonders what could have led him to that state.

"To make great changes in ourselves, takes a great understanding of ourselves."

Alice then goes through a looking glass and remembers a past life in the late 1700's with her soul mate. While reincarnation is a personal belief, this sequence also shows how others in our lives are very important. We need others and love to thrive and be happy.

Alice died young in this life, leaving her lover lost and broken. But then we see her at peace swinging on a swing. All things are temporary in life, even suffering and pain can't last forever.

"The more you are aware of, the freer you will be."



By Secret Rage

This machinima is about seeking wisdom in the everyday places in which you are fortunate enough to find it...submitted as part of the UWA Centenary

~Shaggy, my friend...thank you for letting me put this song in here
~film sites include: the University of Australia and Endarage
~the home is a replica of my own Grandmother's home...the scenes are from those in my memory~I was indeed a blessed child :D
This video was produced with the aid of Camtasia Studio...an exceptional product.



By Pamala Clift

Roadside Philosopher accepting the Challenge from the University of Western Australia to seek wisdom in four and a half minutes.